The spread of coronavirus in India is alarming but even more dangerous are the false beliefs surrounding the pandemic
As the novel Coronavirus continues to spread in India and across the globe, there is mass confusion over how to protect yourself from the pandemic. While it may be tempting to believe the Whatsapp messages forwarded by friends of friends supposedly from a medical source, it’s better to look to trusted sources like the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) and WHO. Meanwhile, get some of the facts straight about Coronavirus in India:
Myth 1: Drinking warm water wards off the virus
Fact: Some people believe that drinking warm water will prevent Coronavirus and other viruses from surviving in your system if they make an entry. However, there’s no evidence that the temperature of the water you drink impacts how your immune system responds to viruses.
The water you drink — whether warm or room temperature — will be 98.6 degrees when it enters your stomach, which makes no difference.
Myth 2: Cow urine curbs Coronavirus in India
Fact: Medical practitioners across the world have been repeatedly saying that there is no cure for the novel coronavirus.
Swami Chakrapani claims that cow urine is the “only cure” for COVID-19 and has held hilarious “cow urine parties”. Chakrapani is the president of the religious group Akhil Bharat Hindu Mahasabha. However, Kriti Bhushan, former DG of Directorate General of Health Services, told PTI there is no scientific evidence behind claims that cow urine can cure COVID-19. “In medical science, we only call something a cure after testing it on a 100 people or more. This is a unilateral claim and has no basis to it, he said.
Myth 3: The novel coronavirus was created in a lab
Fact: Viruses mutate over time and pass from one species of animals to another. Sometimes, there is an epidemic when a virus that is common in a domesticated animal such as a pig or a wild animals such as a bat (in the case of Nipah virus) undergoes changes and passes on to human beings. This is how the new coronavirus as we see it today came into existence.
Myth 4: Everyone should wear masks
Fact: Doctors advise healthy people against wearing masks unless they are healthcare workers, doctors or are taking care of a patient. Besides, surgical masks won’t prevent you from getting a viral infection. They are too loose to be effective. They could prevent a person infected with COVID-19 from transmitting the disease to others. So, the CDC recommends that healthy people who are not working in a hospital or caring for the sick should avoid wearing masks.
Myth 5: Swallowing or gargling with bleach or salt water, using essential oils, ethanol will protect you from COVID-19
Fact: None of these substances will protect you from getting COVID-19. In fact, some of these practices might prove dangerous.
The best ways to protect yourself from coronavirus in India are:
– Washing your hands frequently and thoroughly, using soap and warm water
– Avoiding close contact with people who are sneezing or coughing.
– Vampire cough i.e. coughing into the crook of your elbow
